Nitro Squash

Nitro Squash Review

The Nitro Squash was originally part of the Quiver series of boards, but got popular enough to become its own separate model in the regular lineup. There are now mens and womens regular and split options, as well as youth sizes.

The 2024 model of the Squash has a new shape, but it is still designed to ride the same type of terrain.

In 2021, a 163cm wide version was added, with a waist width of 268mm. Perfect for big guys with big boots.

How the Squash rides

I have ridden the Squash quite a few times now, in Canada, Australia and Japan. I have ridden it with a few combinations of boots and bindings, though they have all had a medium to stiff rating.

Board size: 153cm

Boots: Salomon Launch Boa 27.5

Bindings: Salomon Highlander

I am 6 foot tall, 155lbs and generally ride boards that are around about 155cm in length.

Originally I rode the first Squash in Canada a few years ago, and thinking that it was much more powder focused I chose the 159cm. It was ok, but I didn’t really understand the hype around it, or why everyone else liked it so much compared to what I thought.

Although it doesn’t really look like a volume shift board, it is definitely one that you would want to size down.

Once I tried the 153 my opinion completely changed. I was able to ride the 153 at Hotham in Australia in icy and slushy conditions, as well as later in the year at Nozawa Onsen in Japan with dry light snow.

Camber Profile

The True Camber (traditional camber) gives the Squash a very stable feel, more than I would expect just by looking at the board.

Flex and Pop

It has quite a stiff flex overall, but it is especially noticeable in the tail. The nose has a softer flex, and you will definitely see it chattering at high speed on groomed runs. The tail however is rock solid, and pushes back hard if you ollie the board.

Edge Hold

Zero to complain about with this, even in icy Australian conditions. Traditional camber, with the stiffer flex and the progressive sidecut mean that I was able to ride fast into sketchy looking snow conditions, and still be confident that it would hold its edge and not slip out.

Float

In powder the giant nose starts to do its job well, floating above the snow while the short tail sinks to give it a surfy feeling. Smashing through lumpy powder is easy, the stiff flex of the tail mean that you can lean right back and just let the board do all the work for you.

Even though the tail does sink, I never felt like I was riding through powder, it always gave me the feeling that the board was on top of the snow, and it never felt like it was “fighting” to stay up.

Speed

I never had a problem with speed, it was always freshly waxed and it never felt slow in the conditions that I rode it in (cold and dry groomers/warm slush/cold powder).

When you are riding the Squash fast on groomers, you will notice the giant nose flapping around. It doesn’t seem to affect the feel of the riding at all, but seeing that it is so long, it is hard to miss.

Overall

Overall the Squash is a very solid all around board, that might scare people off because of its “powdery” looking shape, but is still a great carving board. You would want to be an experienced rider, or at least willing to put in the time to get used to it if you haven’t ridden full camber boards before.

Make sure to follow their weight range when working out your size, or at least just go one size smaller than you would normally ride – the camber and stiff tail will more than make up for the shorter length.

Features of the Nitro Squash

Directional Shape
It is a pretty extreme directional shape, with a much longer nose, and a short swallow tail.

True Camber
Regular camber gives the board very good edge hold, stability at high speed and plenty of pop.

Mid-Wide Width
Although this is technically what Nitro call a mid wide, it isn’t super wide – 251mm waist on the 153 and 255mm on the 159cm.

All Terrain Flex

Progressive Sidecut
A progressive sidecut has a larger radius on the front, with a smaller one towards the back. The idea is that it makes starting turns smooth and easy, and the boards wants to accelerate out of the turn.

Powercore II
Made with poplar wood, it is designed to get a good balance between strength, weight and flex.

Bi-Lite Laminates
Two directions of fiberglass.

Sintered Speed Formula HD Base
A high density sintered base – which does a good job at soaking up wax and keeping the board moving fast.

Sizes available:

• 153cm
• 159cm
• 163cm

Similar boards:

• Nitro Woodcarver
• Bataleon Surfer LTD

Nitro Squash Technical Specs

Length	Running Length (mm)	Setback (mm)	Waist Width (mm)	Sidecut (m)	Weight Range (lbs)	Weight Range (kg)
153	1120	25	251	8.0/7.2	110+	50+
159	1180	25	255	8.4/7.6	130+	60+
163	1210	25	268	8.7/7.8	155+	70+

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